A Second Chance
by yayleo
Summary: Not all love stories work out... But sometimes all that is needed is a second chance. A collaboration between myself and MadManMatt64.
1. Chapter 1

A Second Chance

Prologue: Good-bye…

==Eight Years Ago==

Today, just like every other day, the Toronto airport was jammed-packed with people either arriving from their flights or preparing to depart on one. Nothing was out of the ordinary; there were delays, crying children because of the delays, headaches because of the crying children, tempers flaring because of the headaches, and verbal confrontations because of the tempers flaring, threats of death because of the verbal confrontations, and so on and so forth.

An average day, with average problems, and average solutions.

Of course there were a few exceptions to the normal flow of activity within the airport; there was a family of black and white cats who had just returned from their vacation to Hawaii an hour-and-a-half early, sending the moods of the group sky-high, while on the other end of the airport there was a short (almost stubby) dog clad in sharp business attire sitting down at a bench, simmering because his first class tickets got bumped down to coach, making his attitude not as good as the previously examined group of cats. Other than a few other cases of people accidentally experiencing either better or worse luck than the rest of the travel-goers, everything was fairly normal. People either got off or onto planes, grabbed or loaded their luggage, and either went home or to some new, far away land.

It was a fact that seriously depressed an 18 year old cat with gray fur and green eyes. He walked all through the airport with his head hung low and his paws jammed firmly into his pockets. He was hardly looking up at all, even before he and his family had arrived at the airport. As much as he tried to hide his negative emotions, it was painfully obvious to his parents as to why their son was so down today.

She was leaving.

He had known the day was coming, he just wished it hadn't come so soon. Even yesterday itself seemed so far away to him. They had spent the whole day together in his room, just sitting around on his bed, talking, hugging, doing absolutely nothing but keeping each other in their sight for hours and hours, not coming out for hours until her father had called and insisted she come back home and pack. Of course she obliged, but not without a few tears and words of conflict towards her father, but thankfully these didn't evolve into an argument… Reluctantly, she left the grey cat sitting on his bed, staring off at the spot she had been standing just a second ago, a sad, almost remorseful sigh escaping his mouth before he lay back on his bed and just stared at the ceiling for a great length of time, only moving off the bed when he was called down for supper.

Not a word was spoken all throughout the meal; the only sound being made was the clinking of cutlery and the barely audible sounds of eating. Once he was finished his plate, the gray cat trudged up to his room and closed his door quietly behind him, leaving his parents to look after him with worried looks on both their faces. He had barely slept that night, half afraid to and half angry, the reason for both being the knowledge that tomorrow was the day. Eventually, as the sun began to creep its way back into the sky, he was able to achieve a kind of stasis of sleep, but he felt no rejuvenation, just a knot in his stomach that was still there hours later.

When he dragged himself out of bed and out into the hall, he remained solemnly silent when he passed by his father, not giving him the slightest indication that he was there. He stepped into the bathroom just a silently, closing the door behind him without a sound. The sound of the shower running leaked through the door a few minutes later, and it continued well into the early hours of the morning. Forty minutes after he had seen his son walk into the washroom, the gray cat's father kicked down the door, terrified about what he might find on the other side of it. With a heavy sigh of relief - though it still worried him greatly -, the elder cat found his son, stark naked, sitting on the floor of the bathtub, the hot water running continuously down his head and body while he just sat in a ball with his gaze turned towards the floor. Even though you wouldn't have been able to tell, the fur on his face wasn't just matted down by the shower…

Eventually he was taken out of the shower by his father, and was forced to dress himself for the day. He said absolutely nothing all morning, not a word. His father had tried to start up a conversation during breakfast, but was quickly hushed by his wife. The meal progressed in absolute silence, and when everyone had finished what was on their plates, the cat's mother told him in a quiet voice that they would be leaving for the airport in "about twenty minutes."

He nodded his head in acknowledgment before standing up from the table and heading up to his bedroom, passing the time by once again staring up at his ceiling.

As promised, twenty minutes later his mother called him down so they could be on their way. He made his way out of the house with heavy footsteps, and when he saw the car sitting in the driveway he shot it a resentful glare, as if the automobile was one of his most hated enemies. His parents were close behind him and the trio quickly packed into the car and driving away towards the airport in a matter of some very few minutes. The lack of serious traffic made the drive only last forty minutes, but for the cat in the back seat, it felt as though an eternity was passing by. He occupied and entertained himself with the music of his iPod, but even though it held a great number of songs, he only listened to one all the way to the airport.

It was "Beth", by KISS…

When they arrived at the airport, they quickly found a space to park and stepped out of the vehicle and walked on towards the airport. They quickly found a free bench to sit and wait for the girl and her parents to arrive, not waiting more than five minutes until they saw them enter the main doors of the airport and waved over to them. There was a tall, black furred blue eyed cat that was the husband and father to the group, a slightly shorter female cat with pink fur and violet eyes, the mother and wife, and finally behind them was their daughter, fur just as pink as her mother's and eyes the same rich blue that was her father's. Unlike her parents, who had expressions of pride and excitement on their faces, she wore a distant, far-off looking face. They noticed their friends at the bench and waved back to them in greeting, making their way over to them, the woman chitchatting with each other while the men exchanged a friendly handshake. Their children, however, simply sat down with each other on the bench and gave each other sad smiles, not one word being passed between them.

There was a bit of time until the pink furred girl's flight departed, so the group of friends decided to grab something quick to snack on and catch a quick glimpse of the plane and find a good place to wait until boarding calls were made. They spotted a small Tim Horton's and purchased a feast of coffee and an assortment of donuts. Afterwords they made their way to the terminals and found a free row of seats to occupy. They set upon their snacks with some more talk between bites and sips, while the younger cats sat a small distance away from their parents and occupied themselves by their own means. The pink girl was sipping modestly at her cappuccino, stealing some occasional quick glances at the grey tomcat beside her, while he just slouched and held his own beverage in his paws, looking ahead with a blank stare.

Sighing as she set her drink down beside her on the ground, the pink cat inched a bit closer to the gray boy and placed her paw on his shoulder.

"Leo, please, just say something…" She begged in a melancholy voice.

He sighed and turned his gaze towards her. Their eyes met, and both of them could see the sadness in each others eyes, but it wasn't just sadness Leo saw in the pink girl's eyes. There was a kind of pleading in her blue eyes, almost as if she needed to hear his voice, and not getting to would send her off the farthest end.

Sitting up from his lazy slouch, Leo closed what small distance remained between himself and the girl beside him and brought his arms around her in a tight hug. She responded in turn and rested her head upon the crook of his shoulder and squeezed herself against his form. He could make out a few sniffs of her nose and he couldn't stop a few of his own from becoming audible. He wanted to be strong, for his own sake as well as hers, but it was next to impossible right now.

"I'm going to miss you," He mumbled quietly, sinking his muzzle into her long bangs of hair. "A lot..."

She breathed out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I know. I'll miss you too…"

At this Leo frowned and pulled himself away from her and looked her in the eyes once again. "Then why go? Why not just stay here?" He questioned.

She gave a downward cast and sighed deeply with sadness. "I wish I could Leo, but Vancouver has the best school in the country. You know how much I've always wanted to paint. This could be my only chance…"

Leo grumbled solemnly and pressed his forehead against hers. He could see that her eyes were clenched shut with the first signs of tears beginning to make themselves present. His heart sank at the sight. He hated it when she cried.

Taking in a deep breath, Leo brought the girl's face back to be level with his own and placed his paw on the side of her cheek, wiping away the tears with the side of his thumb. He gave he a weary smile.

"Please don't cry Aeris. You're too strong for that."

Aeris let out a shaky chuckle and looked away from Leo to the left. "I don't feel very strong right now…" she said quietly.

Leo grasped Aeris' paw tightly and brought it to rest upon his chest, right over-top of his heart. "But you are. I know it. I've seen you do so much Aeris. You've always come out without a scratch. This isn't any different."

Aeris smiled appreciatively at Leo, squeezing his paw tighter within her own. She began to purr quietly when she felt his tail brush up lightly against her own, and he returned the heart-warming sound. They locked eyes once more, and turned away hurriedly when they saw that both of them had bold blushes on their faces. Aeris tried to keep a giggle from escaping her lips, but ultimately failed, making a thin, goofy grin spread across Leo's face as a result. Slowly, the two young cats turned to face one another again. Both knew that this was the last time they were going to see each other for a long time. It saddened both of them, more than they thought it would, but for each others sake they kept the majority of their depressive moods to themselves.

In an act of in-the-momentness, Aeris folded her tail over Leo's and brought herself completely against him, not one inch of free space between the two. Leo's purring grew louder as a result, as did Aeris', and now they were leaning their heads against each others with their eyes closed in solemn content.

It seemed nothing could break the two friends apart now. They were so close they appeared as one to anyone who didn't get a close look at them. They squeezed each others paw with an intensity that if it weren't for the coming event, might have made one of them pull away from the other due to pain. But neither of them did.

Eventually the moment was broken for the two when the announcer's voice sounded off and called for the first wave of passengers boarding Aeris' flight.

The adults stood up instantly, whereas Leo and Aeris sat up from their seats with intentional slowness. The parents walked over to their children and all of them made their way over to the front desk of the terminal to have Aeris be on her way. They handed over the ticket, signed some papers, and Aeris was given a card reading "V.I.P", which would allow her a small number of extended luxuries on her flight. When everything was said and done, Aeris was told she could board the plane when she was ready.

She thanked the woman at the desk and walked back over to her family and friends. She noticed that Leo was looking out the window at the plane connected to the terminal. His face looked more or less neutral, but Aeris could see the contempt in his green eyes. Taring her gaze from him, she turned to face her parents and gave them a look of complete seriousness.

"I want Leo to walk down to the plane with me." She said bluntly.

There was some objection to this, all of it from the fathers of the two, Leo the Second's not quite sure of the wisdom of letting his already depressive son see his closest friend off, and Aeris's flat-out dislike of Leo getting the better of him. After a quiet argument with the mothers, Leo was allowed to accompany Aeris to the plane, much to Leo's comfort, and sadness.

After going through a crap ton of security measures in order to get to the plane, Aeris, her parents, and Leo were all standing by the door that would lead to the plane. As Leo and Aeris stood in front of the door that would lead to their friendship's demise, Aeris's father hugged her and said, "Well, this is the last time we'll be seeing you for a while, sweety. I know you'll do great."

Aeris hugged her father back and muttered a quiet, "Thanks", before her mother also pulled her into a hug and said essentially the same thing to her as well. When her mother let go, Aeris asked, "Hey, is it okay if you guys leave me and Leo alone for a bit? I want to talk to him alone."

Aeris's mother nodded and smiled sadly, then before her husband could say no to Aeris's request, dragged him off back down to the lobby. The two friends turned to each other and breathed a mutual sigh. At this point, the tears had been replaced by a feeling of emptiness and hopelessness, yet the tears were following closely behind. Leo started, "So... I guess this is goodbye then..."

"Yeah...", Aeris replied. There were no more words to say. Everything was at a standstill, thoughts, people, the world around them. So, instead of using words, Aeris used action. She kissed him, full on the lips. It lasted no more then three seconds, yet conveyed their feelings so well that for once, ever since the news of her departure was first heard, they both felt contented. The contentment was soon replaced once more with dread when the five minute warning was announced.

Steeling herself, Aeris walked to the door of the plane, leaving Leo behind with a heavy heart and a purposefully neutral look, which she could clearly see sadness bleeding through. That wasn't to say that she was faring much better. Far from it. In fact, one could say that she was even worse. While she didn't show it as badly as Leo, her eyes were watering and she felt as though she were about to cry. Even though she openly disliked the way Leo acted on multiple occasions, she did have to admit, she was going to miss all of his insane antics. Likewise, Leo hated the way Aeris treated him most of the time, however, when she was nice and acted like a good friend, she really was a good friend.

As she walked into the hallway that lead to the plane, she looked back at him one more time. He caught her looking at him, and it seemed to say, "I'll be back. I promise.". It was then the door shut, and Aeris was gone from Leo's life. With her gone, he had no more reason to restrain his crying, and thus began to sob his heart out, walking back into the lobby and sitting on a bench. His parents were on the other side of the terminal, and he really didn't want to see them at this point. After a while, he had stopped sobbing and just sat there, looking down at the floor. He then heard someone walking toward him, someone waring heels. "Probably Mom.", he thought, "She found me and now we're going home."

Although, he was slightly shocked when he heard someone who wasn't his mother say, "Hey. You all right?"

Leo looked up hesitantly and then he saw her. It was an orange girl cat, and a rather beautiful looking one at that. She wasn't dressed like a skank, but her clothes showed off a slightly more than tasteful amount of fur to be exposed.

For a while, Leo just sat there, surprised that a girl as gorgeous as this one was talking to him, let alone while he was sitting at a bench looking so depressive. As she looked at his face, she said, "Oh, you look bad. What happened?"

Leo was silent for a moment. He knew this girl literally for ten seconds, and she was asking him what his problem was? Although, he did need someone to talk to, and his parents would only spout the same old bullshit about how he should be proud of Aeris and that he could probably make new friends now. So, he told the complete stranger everything while she sat next to him, touching him comfortingly. When he had finished she said, "You poor thing. Let me get you something to drink."

Leo said thanks as she walked away to get him some water, glad that she was around. She came back a few minutes later with a bottle of water in hand. Leo took it thankfully and gulped half of it down in one go, desperately trying to quench his thirst. As he did, he realized something, "I never caught your name."

The girl smiled, "My name's Taylor."

Aeris kept to herself on the flight, preferring to just sit around and be stared at by those who wondered why she was crying for the first third of their flight. She didn't know it, but as she flew to Vancouver, her best friend would do somethine that would help to change the course of both of their lives…

But that wouldn't become known to either of them for quite some time.


	2. Chapter 2

A Second Chance

Chapter 1: Reunion

==Present day==

Toronto, home to thousands of cats, dogs, and other species of animals, was as busy today as it was any other day, with the weather being just as beautiful. The sun was shinning, the birds were singing, there were a couple of children out and about with their parents, and in general, it was a fairly good day to be alive.

For most people, that is.

"Ugh, grocery shopping.", Thought Aeris Cole as she trudged her cart slowly throughout the local grocery store. It was nice to finally be back home after all this time, but getting resettled in the enormous city of Toronto was something she had been putting off for a good amount of time now. Finally finding a decent sized apartment a week ago after spending the better part of the last month on her parents' couch, Aeris had been spending the majority of the past few days making her new home livable, buying furniture, clothes, appliance and toiletries, and the only thing left to do on the list was stock the fridge, a task that was easier said than done. Unfortunately for Aeris, she had made the decision to go out for groceries AFTER the usual shopping day of Sunday, thinking that if she did so, she would be able to avoid the annoyances of long lines and incompetent high-school-aged employees. While she did manage to bypass these unpleasant factors by choosing to shop on Monday, she inadvertently avoided the one thing she had set out to acquire today; quality products, AKA, food. The only things left on the shelves in the wake of the Sunday-afternoon-masses were the less-than-appealing company-exclusive products that, despite their relatively cheap price, always managed to turn Aeris away from them because of their equally cheap taste, but since it was either the crappy food or eating out another few days (something which she could not afford), the pink cat decided she could stomach a few cans of "bleh" flavored whatever until the store could restock it's more desirable items.

Turning out of the freezer aisle with a good amount of Hungry Men in her cart, Aeris checked what was next up on the list. Milk, eggs and bread were the only things that hadn't been crossed off, so Aeris set off to fetch a jug of milk first.

As Aeris made her way through the store, she was struck with a parade of thoughts leisurely making their way through her mind. Most were fairly unimportant, like her noticing how much more everything seemed to cost in Toronto compared to Vancouver, or her wondering if it would be better if she bought a four liter jug of milk and postpone the next time she would have to return to the store in favor of the slightly cheaper two liter jug. Fairly trivial, everyday life things that come across the mind of every young adult now and then.

There was, however, one thought that struck her that made her previous ones seem rather childlike and immaculate in comparison to this one grand thought. It was the realization that so much had changed in the eight years she had been gone. The changes in question were nothing incredibly major, just little things like new buildings, different colored taxis, better roads (and thank God for that!), little things that even though she knew she shouldn't get worked up about, made Aeris realize just how much she had missed the over-sized city that was her home.

As she rounded the corner that would lead into the dairy aisle, she spotted the jugs of milk that came in incremental sizes. Deciding to just get the one closest to her and be done with it, she walked over to the refrigerated shelf and took the jug off of it. As she was doing this, out of the corner of her eye, she could've sworn that she saw a long gray tail moving between the aisles. Somehow peaking her curiosity, she looked over in the direction she had seen the tail, but all she saw was empty space.

Shaking her head, Aeris put the jug into the cart and continued walked a little ways down the aisle to reach the eggs. As she made her way there, she wondered why her interest had piqued when she thought she saw that tail.

That gray tail…

Her thoughts focused on her friend from all those years ago. Leo Leonardo the Third. Even after eight years, she never forgot the name, much less the cat himself. He was her best friend for as long as she could remember, one of her only friends at that. Of course that had changed in Vancouver. She had made some close friends there. It wasn't easy of course, but it was nothing in comparison to leaving Leo. Even though it had gotten easier to deal with over time, it was undoubtedly the hardest thing she had ever had to do. All this thinking of Leo briefly made Aeris wonder whether or not he was still somewhere in Toronto.

"Heh, probably living in his parent's basement, trolling the WoW forums.", she thought to herself with a chuckle. In all honesty, that really was what she was expecting out of him. After all, low grades, no drive, and procrastination could do that for a person. And lets face it; this was Leo we're talking about. He was never very bright to begin with.

Having picked up the eggs, she left the aisle and went to get the bread, which was only two aisles down. Looking straight ahead, Aeris once again saw the gray tail. Chalking it up to a random event, she walked into the bread section, hoping that someone hadn't made off with all the good kinds of rye just yet. Heading down the aisle, she inadvertently thought of Leo once more. Ever since she came back, the gray cat that she had once called her best friend held a spot in the back of her mind. She sometimes wondered if she would ever see him again while she was in Vancouver. Unfortunately, during her first winter break, her mother informed her that the Leonardo's had moved house. Several times, actually. She didn't even know if they were still in Toronto. Because of this, after a while, Aeris began to believe the possibility of ever seeing Leo again about as good as never. Like everything else it wore her down a bit, put after a while she decided to quit being depressed over something she couldn't change and got back to living her own life.

She broke out of this thought process when she saw that the store did in fact still have her preferred brand of bread. Smiling at her luck, she grabbed the bread, put it in the cart and started to make her way to checkout, finally finished with the hell that was the neighborhood Sobeys.

As she turned out of the aisle, another cart ran into hers, jarring the handles from her grasp and knocking the entire thing over along with her groceries.

Now on the fine line between irritation and anger, Aeris nearly shouted at the person who ran into her, "Hey! Watch where you're going dumbass!"

She then righted the cart and, with a scowl, began putting her items back into it. She never looked up at who it was that rammed her.

"Sorry about that. Here, let me give you a hand.", the person that ran into Aeris apologized, and oddly enough, the voice that she heard sounded… familiar somehow, like she had heard it before…

Despite her now being in a rather bad mood, Aeris' mind was awash with her best memories of Leo, like that Christmas when they were sixteen and he'd gotten her the wrong game, and the time he had gotten "drunk" off Pepsi back in Junior year. They played back and forth in her head as she and the stranger gathered up her groceries off the floor and placed them back in the cart. She kept her head down as she brushed the dirt off her bananas; a pissed-off frown upon her face, while the stranger who knocked over her cart stood up and cleared his throat.

"Sorry again. I wasn't looking where I was going.", Aeris glanced over at him with an icy look in her eyes and her eyebrow raised, making the stranger chuckle with her expression. Aeris groaned at the sound, shaking her head at yet another example of the idiots of society and their irritating actions.

"It's fine.", she replied with a huff, still keeping her vision focused on the bananas; searching for any possible bruises on their skin. The stranger nodded his head, turned his cart off to the side, and began heading away from Aeris down the aisle. She finally looked up from the fruits, finding no bruises upon them, and caught sight of the man, whom she realized was a cat by his triangle ears and long, thin tail, turning out of the aisle and off towards somewhere else. As he was walking away, Aeris swore with every bit of certainty she had that she could hear a faint jingling that played along with every step that was taken by the unfamiliar cat. Not only that, but she caught sight of two things, two minimal, incredibly tiny things that, like the gray tail she had seen earlier disappearing between the aisles, that brought her memories of Leo screaming back to the top of her mind.

One of them was the smoky gray fur that covered the entire body of the cat, and the other was the small tuft of hair that stood up upon his head.

She didn't know why these two things intrigued her so much, but for reasons she didn't fully understand, they reminded her, again like the tail, of Leo and her memories of him. It was strange, since gray was a fairly common fur color among cats and the hair style was widely popular as well, but they pulled at her memories of her past friend with an intensity she had never felt before.

_Maybe…maybe it was him…_ She thought with a flame of hope that was quickly flicked out by, what else, cold and unfeeling logic. _Yeah, it was him. And Mass Effect 3 had a satisfying ending. Listen to yourself Aeris. You were supposed to have gotten over this a long time ago. What are the chances? What're the odds that you would bump into him, HIM_, in a place that sees hundreds of people a day? I mean come on.

She sighed as she bent down to pick up her eggs. She really thought she had moved on from wishing about seeing Leo again… I guess you could say that some things never change.

Seeing that the eggs had cracked from being thrown to the ground, Aeris tossed the carton into the trash with a growl and hurried back over to the dairy before other customers could buy the rest of them. If she had to come back here tomorrow she would hit the roof, a roof that she was very close to hitting at this point.

As she made her way back to the dairy cooler, memories of her childhood with Leo played out in vivid detail in the eye of Aeris' mind. They were so clear, so precise it was as if they had just happened. It was strange to say the least, especially considering that she was starting to have trouble in the last few months in remembering even the best of her memories of Leo, but now everything seemed to be coming back to her as if none of them had left in the first place. There was the time when Aeris had broken her arm when she and Leo had first tried to climb a tree back when they were ten, helping her out for weeks afterwords, or the first time Leo had gotten drunk (legit this time) and made an ass of himself at fifteen at a friends house (he didn't remember it, but she sure as hell did!), and of course there were the more…personal memories as well…

Memories like the time Leo held her in his arms close to him while they watched Jeepers Creepers.

Aeris recalled the memory with a pleasantly warm blush. She hadn't been scared of the movie, truly, since it was rather cheesy when compared to even the oldest horror movies, but Leo was another story. He was downright freaked out by the Creeper. Whenever the nasty bastard appeared on screen, Leo got IMENSLY uncomfortable, and within the first hour of the film he had Aeris pressed up fully against him. She didn't mind, since she herself was a little creped out by that ugly motherfucker, so Aeris let Leo squeeze her against his body all throughout the movie. That was probably one of her most treasured memories of Leo, especially considering that it led to-

**THUNK!**

Aeris abruptly realized that her daydreaming had managed to tare her focus away from the present, having run her cart into the side of the dairy cooler, rather loudly I might add. Blushing heavily with embarrassment, Aeris quickly swung the shopping cart off the cooler and hurried to grab the new package of eggs before anyone could notice her little blunder.

Skimming across the shelves of the cooler, Aeris spotted the last (and cheapest) carton of eggs on the shelf, appearing to her to be resting in a light protruding from the sky above with a choir of angels accompanying it.

_Yes!_ Aeris thought joyfully as she sped to grab the eggs. She was moving so fast that in her rush to get the eggs for herself, she had failed to see the corner of another cart poking out of the corner of another aisle.

Needless to say, she ran into that other cart pretty hard.

**BAM!**

Now, Aeris could sometimes be considered a little ignorant of certain things when something that is relevant to her interests was right in front of her or was in immediate danger. So naturally, when she crashed into the cart, she was blissfully unaware of this fact until she had nestled the eggs safely into her cart and heard someone say, "Excuse me, but I think you should help me with this."

Aeris then finally noticed the mess she had inadvertently caused. It was even worse than when her cart spilled, mostly due to this person's cart having been filled to the brim with such items as cans of soda, bottles of syrup, and other liquids that could make things sticky. It was also then she noticed something else: it was the same guy from earlier. She couldn't really see his face, but she could tell because he was wearing the same clothes. Blushing even more now, Aeris said, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going.

The cat laughed a little, "Its okay. Same thing happened with me earlier."

"Yeah, with me." Aeris told him.

"No kidding?", he asked, "Well, I guess that we should just call this revenge and be done with it."  
May 16th, 11:57pm

Aeris's blush decreased a little, but it was still plainly visible. She felt lucky that the cat had decided not to look at the person who had knocked his groceries from his cart, as she really didn't like the idea of having to face the person that she yelled at for the exact same thing she did to him not even five minutes later. Although, she did say, "Here, I'll help you out."

After the stranger had thanked her, Aeris bent down and righted his cart so that he could put his stuff in it. She then helped to pick up all the things that she had helped the stranger to drop, trying her best to avoid all the sticky things (YOU try getting maple syrup out you your fur). After they had both picked up everything from the ground, the stranger said, "Thanks again, I owe you one."

Aeris rolled her eyes. She never much liked that expression when a complete stranger used it, especially when she knew that they would never see each other ever again. However, she kept this opinion to herself and said, "Hey, I'm sorry again. I've been distracted about something."

As the cats returned to their respective carts, he made an audible shrug and said, "It's alright. I've had a lot of stuff on my mind too."

And with that, he left Aeris alone in the dairy aisle, what sounded like tiny bell ringing with every step he took. After sighing, she pulled her list out to double check if she had missed anything. Satisfied that she didn't, she made a her slow trek up the aisles to the checkout, her mind idly going to the one subject that had remained constant while she was here: that strange cat. She had noticed something else about him that had made her suspicious of his identity; his wardrobe. His clothing consisted of nothing but blue. Blue sweater, blue pants, blue scarf. The only thing that didn't fit it was a pair of red tennis shoes with a white stripe. Then before she could even begin to get her hopes up once more, logic reared it's ugly head again, "Okay, now I'm just grasping at straws. I mean, come on, now I'm thinking that some guy I don't know is Leo because they have similar clothing? I'm not even going to start thinking about what's wrong with that."

She smirked in an amused way and shook her head, finding it a little silly that she would even consider that a stranger was Leo only because they happened to have the same exact taste in clothing. She then reached the checkout line only to discover the slightly disquieting realization that only one checkout line wasn't overcrowded, and it also happened to hold a certain stranger no less.

_You've __**got**__ to be kidding me._ Aeris mentally face-palmed when she saw the blue-garbed gray cat waiting in line at the till. She was a little hesitant to get in line behind him, since their past encounters had been less than pleasant, but the shortness of the line itself in comparison to all the others was what made her push her cart up to the line and find a place close behind the unfamiliar cat. She made sure to keep her distance, not because she was shy, but because she wanted to avoid being seen by the cat in front of her and having an awkward conversation arise. Keeping her cart a good foot or so back from the cat in front of her, Aeris went on yet another trip down memory lane, recalling not just her best, but close to every single memory she had of Leo and herself. It was so weird, remembering all these things. Leo had left her life so long ago, and yet it was as if he was right there with her. She remembered everything about him; the twinkle of mischief that was always in his emerald eyes, the positive attitude he always had for life even when it cracked down on him, his seemingly never-ending ways of finding a way out of trouble, and most of all, his voice. Aeris couldn't think of what it could be, but his voice was always so…happy. Not just his voice, but the words they carried as well. It didn't matter the situation, when Leo was around and wanted to make you feel better, he always managed to do it. His words carried a positive air that Aeris had never heard anywhere else. That was probably the greatest trait Leo had. That happy voice.

Having realized that the line had moved up some, Aeris moved up closer to the till before someone could cut in front of her, still maintaining a distance between herself and the stranger, who was now placing his own groceries on the conveyor belt. Despite logic telling her over and over again that it was just wishful thinking, Aeris couldn't help but hold a small amount of belief that this was Leo Leonardo in front of her. She knew it was silly, childish even, but she felt certain that the gray cat standing just a foot away from her was her friend from so long ago.

_It's just some random guy, _Aeris thought, logical thinking nearly taking over once more before something else, hope, took rein of her thoughts. _A random guy that wears all blue, has the same color of fur, same hair, and a jingle that goes off whenever he takes a step._

Aeris knew that the odds where undoubtedly against her. She knew that whoever this was would probably wind up being just another guy with a thing for blue, and that she probably would wind up looking like an idiot if she asked, but she couldn't deny her gut.

This was Leo, Aeris was certain of that.

So certain that she was even willing to risk terrible embarrassment to herself to prove it.

Taking in a breath, Aeris took a step towards the gray cat, reaching a paw out to his shoulder. _I can do this_ she thought as she reduced the distance between them, getting closer and closer before she gently rested her paw upon his shoulder.

"Excuse me, but-" She began, but stopped when she saw she had startled the stranger, dropping his bread on the ground as he jumped from the sudden contact. Aeris recoiled, realizing her mistake, and her face became an intense red. She face-palmed hard, cursing herself for being so awkwardly direct and forward.

"You scared the hell out of me!" Aeris' ears flattened against her head when she heard him say that. She hadn't meant to startle him, just get his attention. Aeris could feel her cheeks becoming hotter by the second, and tried to think of something to say to explain her actions. She could just be straightforward, but she quickly dropped that idea. Telling this random stranger that she thought he was her best friend after eight years apart probably would help her any. She continued to search for something to say when she spotted the bread lying on the floor. Recognizing her opportunity to at least partially explain herself, Aeris bent forward to pick up the bread.

"Here, let me get that for you."

Unfortunately, the stranger hadn't heard Aeris, as he was still calming himself from her previous actions, and he had noticed his bread on the ground and was bending over to pick it up as well. Slowly each got closer and closer to each other, getting closer and closer to each other until they made contact via roughly (very roughly) bonking their heads together.

"Ow!" They cried out in unison, with Aeris falling to the floor from the impact while the stranger simply whiplashed backwards. Aeris clenched her eyes shut from the throbbing that had appeared in her head, and rubbed the spot where it was the worst. "Son of a bitch." she growled in a low tone. Nothing seemed to be going her way when she was around this guy.

The guy in question rubbing his head just as Aeris was, and was wondering who or what it was he had just knocked heads with. Cracking his eyes open after the short burst of pain, the cat spotted Aeris on the ground, remembering her as the woman he had run into earlier. Deducing that it was her he'd collided with, he remembered his gentlemanly manners, the stood up straight and held his paw out to Aeris, "Uh, sorry again. Here let me help you up."

Aeris, realizing she was being spoken to, opened her eyes to see the outstretched paw of the gray cat just in front of her face. Out of sheer instinct from being knocked down Aeris smacked the paw away, a scowl on her face as she stood herself back up and brushed the dirt off her pants.

"I'm fine." She said in an apathetic voice.

Realizing that it would probably be best if he didn't speak to Aeris right at this moment, the cat retracted his paw and turned his attention back to his groceries. While all this was happening, two things happened; one, Aeris caught a slight glimpse of the face of the cat in front of her, and being certain that she had seen a flash of green come off his eyes. Second, the cat realized that he deserved an explanation for the shoulder-touching and the subsequent head-banging.

Turning to look at Aeris, who had now found the eggs in her cart incredibly interesting, the stranger said, "Hey, I don't think you really gave me a reason why you put your paw on my shoulder."

Aeris, still embarrassed from the humiliation that had happened not even thirty seconds ago, kept her gaze averted from the stranger as she said to him, "It was nothing. I just saw a hair on your shirt and I just decided to brush it off."

Even though she couldn't see it, she could tell the strange cat was giving her a weird look, and then he said in a sing-song voice, "That's pretty weak."

Aeris gritted her teeth in annoyance. She hated that sing-song tone. Leo would use it whenever he wanted to annoy her, and it still bothered her to no end whenever someone did that. Keeping her temper in check, she said, "Well, its true."

"No it isn't.", he said, "Why would you grab my shoulder if you wanted to take off some hair?"

Aeris scowled at her cart as her heart sank a little. No way was Leo that observant. The closest he ever got to actually being smart was his 'face full of alien wing-wong' theory. However, her dashed hopes came right back (although she still was rather annoyed) when the stranger then said, "Or did you want to molest me? Oh my God, were you trying to molest me?"

Aeris groaned, "No, that isn't-"

"You **were** trying to molest me weren't you!", the stranger asked, shocked.

"No I wasn't!" Aeris shouted grabbing the sides of the cart in an attempt to keep herself from lashing out at Le- the stranger's face.

"Then why did I keep running into you?" he asked, backing away from this person who he thought was a rapist, "Why is it you chose this checkout line? Why did you grab my shoulder?"

Aeris then shouted, "Because!" but then realized that she was drawing some unwanted attention to herself and the stranger. She let go of the sides of the cart and looked down, looking almost ashamed, "Look, the reason why I grabbed your shoulder was because I thought that you were a friend of mine and I wanted to ask you if you were him."

The stranger seemed a little off-put by this, "A... friend?"

"Yeah." she chuckled sadly. "Stupid I know, but you just seemed to fit the bill. It would be impossible for you to be him, it makes no sense."

She then went to leave the checkout line for another when the stranger's white paw was placed on her shoulder, "Wait a minute. This friend of yours, what was his name?"

Aeris could feel the hope drain out of her voice when she told the stranger, "His name was Leo. Leo Leonardo the Third."

The paw slid off of her should. Aeris' ears drooped a little, knowing that the stranger had never heard the name before. Of course, that line of thought went right into the wastebasket when the stranger asked, "Aeris?"

Aeris felt her skip a beat when she heard her name. She turned around slowly and came face to face with him. Her friend. Her best friend.

"L-Leo?"

Leo. Leo Leonardo the Third. It was him, in his gray furred, green eyed, blue clothed glory. Aside from the shocked expression on his face, Aeris came to see that it hadn't really changed much in the course of eight years. Although, there was something slightly off with his eyes; they still had that twinkle she remembered so well, but it seemed to have… dimmed somewhat.

Speaking of shocked expressions, while she could clearly see that Leo was just as surprised to be seeing her as she was him, Aeris' mouth and eyes were opened about as far as they could be. She was still in disbelief that she had found him, HIM, after all these years, and here of all the places. It was impossible. It shouldn't be happening, and yet it was. Here they were, separated for so long, reunited through sheer chance.

Time seemed to be standing still as they both took in each other's presence, when in reality it was only about two seconds that they stood there before Leo pounced on her and wrapped his arms around her in one of the tightest hugs Aeris had ever experienced.

"Aeris! Oh my God, it really is you! I can't believe it! How ya doin' girl?"

Leo squeezed Aeris so hard that she thought her head was going to pop right off of her neck. If it had been anywhere else with anyone else, she probably would've tried to break free of the hug, but all she did was look forward with that look of disbelief still stuck on her face, accepting it without a second thought. It wasn't until that she began to feel light headed that she collected herself and realized she was probably going to pass out from Leo squeezing her so hard.

"Leo…Too…Tight." Aeris said breathlessly, exasperated over the intensity of the hug. Leo obeyed her in an instant, and released her from his hold, a big smile on his face.

"Heh, sorry about that," He said, scratching the back of his head.

Aeris caught her breath, taking in two big breaths before she looked back at Leo. She was still taking this all in, but that didn't stop her from smiling. Just as he had, she came forward and brought her arms around Leo in a fairly tight hug. He responded in turn, hugging her back, and before either of them knew it they were laughing in pure happiness. Their laughter drew some odd stares from the fellow customers but neither of them paid attention to them. They were too caught up in the moment to care.

After what felt like an eternity of laughing and hugging each other, Leo and Aeris drew away from their mutual embrace and looked each other in the eyes, still keeping their smiles firmly in place. It was her that first spoke up.

"Fancy seeing you here."

Leo laughed at the joke, smiling wider as a result.

"I could say the same thing to you!", He replied in an up-beat tone. Aeris just continued to smile, her face starting to hurt from it being so big.

After a while Leo said, "So, long time no see huh?"

"I guess you could say that, yeah!" She replied enthusiastically.

"So how've you been? You're looking great!", he exclaimed in an equally enthused tone.

Aeris felt a warmth spread through her when he said that. "Pretty good, thanks. Just surviving, y'know? And you're not looking half bad yourself."

Leo let a smug look come upon his face, "Since when was I ever not sexy?"

He then struck what could be called a sexy pose, flexing his arms to show off what little muscle he had, making Aeris roll her eyes sarcastically.

After trying his hardest to look "sexy" (give us a freaking break Leo), Leo let his arms fall back to his sides and just stared at Aeris. You could tell he was still soaking up all of this, because he looked her up and down at least five times before he turned his gaze back to her eyes. He kept his smile on his face all the while, Aeris doing the same. While this was going on, Leo and Aeris remained oblivious to the fact that the line was growing behind them, and that the other customers within it were getting a little irritated with the waiting.

"So..." She began.

"So..." Leo echoed.

"So how've you been, ya friggin' dork!" Aeris grabbed Leo in a headlock and began noogying his head fiercely.

"Ah! Nooooo! Stoppit!" Leo tried to break free of Aeris hold, but failed. If it weren't for the rumbling chuckle that emanated from him, you might have thought he was in pain. Eventually Aeris ceased the noogying but still held Leo in the headlock. Aeris looked down upon Leo and he looked up at her, their eyes meeting once more and their gaze being locked for a good amount of time. Eventually Aeris released Leo from the headlock and allowed him to stand back up, their gazes still locked. When he was standing straight up once more, Leo had the most thoughtful look Aeris had ever seen anyone wear.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you right now Aeris.", he said while looking away and rubbing the back of his head, a red tint coming to his cheeks.

Aeris felt a fresh blush come to her cheeks as well, flattered that she had received such a compliment, "It's good to see you too Leo." She replied. "Really good."

They stood there, with every positive emotion, happiness, joy, gratitude, serenity, awe, coursing through their very beings. It was strange for Aeris. This morning she had woken up expecting the day to be nothing but an unenjoyable and all around horrible experience, and now here she was with Leo. Funny how the universe could work like this sometimes.

The tranquil atmosphere between the two was broken when an elderly woman walked up to the two, a basket in her hand, and a pleading look upon her face.

"Excuse me you two," She began in a calm and endearing voice. "I don't mean to be a bother, but, well, you're holding up the rest of us with your little chit-chat."

Leo and Aeris spun around to be greeted by the sight of a substantially long line-up, and while the old woman appeared to be of a kind and sincere nature, the rest of the occupants of the line looked to be much more hostile, with scowls, frowns, tapping feet, and crossed arms appearing all across the board. Feeling a bit of embarrassment at the situation, Aeris quickly turned back to the old woman with an apologetic look upon her face, "I'm very sorry ma'am. We didn't mean to-"

"We didn't mean to cause any trouble. Sorry about that. We'll get our stuff finished up here. Sorry again for making you have to wait."

Aeris was a bit surprised. She remembered it was always her that did the apologizing whenever she and Leo got in hot water. Not only had he apologized, but he sounded as though he meant it! It perplexed Aeris greatly. But then again, a lot could happen in eight years, so she stopped that train of thought there.

Seeing that Leo had set himself back to the task of paying for his groceries, Aeris followed suit, making sure to avoid the glares of those behind her.

In a matter of about four minutes, Leo had gotten his groceries paid for and loaded into his cart. Aeris took much less time, since she had a much lower amount of items, and before long the line was moving at a normal rate once more, which was accompanied by cheering from the other shoppers. Leo and Aeris met up over in the lobby just in front of the doors, making sure to stay out of the way of those coming in and exiting.

"Well," Leo began. "I have to say this is a pleasant surprise."

"You could say that again." Aeris replied.

"I have to say this is a pleasant surprise.", Leo repeated with a smirk on his face.

Aeris rolled her eyes. Same old Leo. He chuckled to himself following his "clever" use of words, and gave a look to Aeris. She hadn't changed much, besides of course the obvious changes that happened with time, and Leo couldn't help but let another smile come across his face at the realization that this really was Aeris sitting beside him. He let his wonderment show upon his face.

"What?" Aeris asked when she noticed him glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"Nothing." Leo replied, leaning back a little. "I'm just, y'know, surprised to see you. It's been awhile."

"Heh, you could say that." She replied with a smirk. "Lots to catch up on, huh?"

"Yep." Leo laughed. "You know, that gives me an idea. Are you free tonight?"

Aeris ears perked up a bit at the question. "For what?"

"Just dinner. I know this great restaurant not far from where I live. They got everything; burgers, fries, pizza, shakes, you name it, they got it. Maybe we grab something to eat, do some talking, catch up a bit, all the good stuff. What'dya say?"

Aeris thought about it. Dinner did sound good, and her instinctive curiosity was burning with the fiery intensity of a million gas station fires (Sorry man, it's my little running gag now). It would be good to hear about what had happened with Leo since she had left. Heck, just to talk with him period sounded like fun.

"Sounds like a plan to me. What time were you thinking?"

"Ummmmm…How's seven sound?"

"Seven sounds just fine." She smiled.

Leo smiled back. "Great. I'll see you then. You gonna need a ride?"

Aeris shook her head. "I can just get a cab. What's the restaurant called?"

"Howard's" Leo replied. He noticed Aeris giving him a weird look and he stuck his tongue out in response. "Yes, it's called Howard's. Shut up. It's on 48th street, right next to the apartments, you can't miss it."

"Alright, sounds good." Aeris then gave Leo a hard look, "Don't be late.", she said in voice that intended to sound threatening, while a joking tone was hidden underneath it.

Leo smirked in response to the threat, "Same to you."

Aeris scoffed, knowing full well that she was never late for her appointments, but decided she might as well let Leo have his fun. Checking the time on the clock above the doors, Aeris saw that it was about a quarter to four. Realizing she had to call a cab soon and avoid rush hour, Aeris looked back to Leo and gave a slight sigh.

"Sorry Leo, I gotta get going. The traffic sucks major dick after four, and the cabs are slow as fuck."

"Don't I know it.", he replied, "Don't worry about it. I'll see you later tonight, right?"

"Of course! At seven, promise."

"Awesome." They stood there a few seconds before Leo stood back up and began pushing his cart towards the door. Before he exited the door he gaze one last look back at Aeris and smiled.

"It's so good to see you again Aeris. It really is."

Aeris smiled back and waved a paw at the departing Leo. "It's good to see you too, Leo."

He was about to turn around, then it looked like he remembered something. He looked at her again and said, "Hey Aeris?"

"Hmm?", she replied.

He smirked, "Sorry that I thought you were going to rape me."

She laughed, "It's okay. No harm, no foul."

With that, Leo smiled and exited the store, heading off to wherever his car was parked. Aeris watched him leave until she lost sight of him. After he had disappeared from her sight Aeris called a cab and got back to her apartment. As she was driven home, all she could think of was what had just happened.

She and Leo had been reunited. After all these years, they were back together. It was only for a brief time, but it was true. It made her happy, happier than she had been in a long time.

It was at that moment, walking into her apartment with an armful of bags, that Aeris realized that she had no idea what could be going through Leo's mind as she was thinking this.

"Probably trying to think of a stupid joke to say tonight.", she thought to herself with a laugh.

For the Authors Note: So, how long did this take. Two months? Dear God, what have we been doing? Oh well, I doesn't matter much now, does it? I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as yayleo and I have enjoyed making this. Read and Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Dinner Date

==Nine Years Ago==

"Hey mom, I'm heading out with Aeris. I'll be back around eight.", Leo called over to his mother in the kitchen, grabbing his car keys off the counter beside the door.

"Alright honey. Will you need something to eat when you get back?"

"No I'll be fine, but thanks. We'll probably grab a burger or something around town."

"Okay. Don't have too much fun."

Leo rolled his eyes as he made his way past his mother. "I'll try.", he responded with heavy sarcasm. He grabbed his jacket from the closet while his mother snuck up behind him and surprised Leo with a quick hug. She planted a kiss on her son's forehead, much to Leo's embarrassment.

"Moooooooooom!", the gray cat whined in response to the small display of parental affection.

"Oh quit it, you big baby.", Mrs. Leonardo gave her son a light tap on the back of the head, a joking smile on her face, "You haven't moved out yet, so I can still give you a kiss every now and then."

"No, I'mma big boy now!", Leo responded in a rather childish voice, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out at his mother to complete the display of immaturity. Mrs. Leonardo simply took it in stride. She loved Leo's sense of humor. Well, not so much the more perverse aspects of it, but she had no problem with him showing it off around the house with her or his father. Giving Leo another bop on the back of the noggin, this time a bit harder to focus his attention on her, Mrs. Leonardo tapped her wrist a few times, silently telling Leo he had better get going soon. It was a well known fact that Aeris didn't like to be kept waiting, and Leo wasn't about to pay the price for it.

Slipping his jacket over himself, Leo made his way out of the kitchen and was heading towards the front door when his mother cut him off, an expectant expression present on her face, "Forgetting something?"

Leo rolled his eyes and sighed before giving his mother a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. She chuckled to herself, delighting in the fact that Leo was so easy to bug, and stepped aside to let him leave, "Love you son. Don't come home too late, okay?"

"Alright mom, love you too." Leo responded. "See you later dad!" Leo called towards the living room to his father on the couch, contently reading today's paper.

"Have a good time son. Don't forget to use protection!", his father shouted back in a joking manner.

"LEO!" Mrs. Leonardo ran up to her husband, snatched the newspaper from his paws, rolled it up, and proceeded to beat him over the head with it, all within the time frame of five or so seconds, "DON'T GIVE HIM ANY IDEAS!"

Leo simply shook his head as he stepped out of his house and towards his car, the sounds of his parents shenanigans fading as he distanced himself from the house. People often wondered why he was lacking in the smarts department. Well as the saying goes, the apple doesn't fall from the tree. His little joke made Leo snicker quietly to himself, knowing he'd probably get grounded for a lengthy amount of time if he were to ever relay it to either of his parents. Jangling his keys between his digits, Leo stepped into his car, bringing the old thing roaring to life. The music of his favorite classic rock station was playing softly in the background as he pulled out of the driveway. As Leo made his way over to Aeris' house, he kept bobbing his head along to the rhythm of "Dr. Feelgood", thinking for the umpteenth time about how great of a band Motley Crue was.

A few minutes later Leo and his rusty old car came to a stop at the Cole residence. He gave a quick toot of the horn to signal his arrival to his pink friend. Aeris stepped out of the door a few seconds later, dressed in her everyday attire; dark navy jeans, purple t-shirt, and of course her favorite pink jacket. Leo waved over to her, and she waved back, smiling at the feline in the driver's seat.

Sitting into the passenger's seat beside Leo, Aeris leaned over and gave the gray cat a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting. "Took you long enough.", she said as she pulled her seat belt across her chest.

Leo shrugged at her snarky response,"Sorry, got held up at home. Mom was just being Mom again."

Aeris rolled her eyes and said,"Yeah sure. So, where are we headed?"

Leo smiled, "Well, I figured that we'd just get something to eat today, maybe catch a movie if there's anything good playing. You game?"

Aeris shrugged, "May as well. After all, I had nothing else better to do anyway."

"Alright then.", Leo said as he continued to drive. After a moment, Aeris looked him over and said,"God, you look like a slob."

Leo chuckled, "Hey, it's not like we're going to a five-star restaurant. It's just going to be some diner. Seriously, who would make themselves look all groomed if they were just going to some burger joint?"

==Present Day==

Leo hated irony so much.

After he had returned home from his grocery shopping, he set his bags down on the counter and began to take out the contents of the bags. He was half-way done when he heard that all too familiar voice.

"Hi!" Came an almost melodious, female voice.

Leo smiled at the woman in the living room. "Hi honey. How're things while I was gone?"

"Pretty good.", she answered, "A little boring without you around, as usual."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad.", he said, smirking.

"I guess not, but I get so lonely without you around.", she trailed off in a slightly sad voice.

Leo took the last can out of the bag before walking over and hugging her, giving her a warming smile.

"Sorry hon. Doesn't help that I'll be leaving again in a few hours..."

From her expression, Leo knew she was more than disappointed by this news. "Awwwww, why?"

"I met one of my friends today.", he responded, trying to help himself. "I haven't seen her in years."

The female's ears perked at that word. "Her?", she questioned.

"Don't worry, she isn't going to replace you.", he reassured, giving her a quick squeeze for reassurance,

"We're just going to a restaurant to catch up on what we've been doing."

"Oh, okay.", she said, feeling better. "Have a good time."

"I will, but I have to get changed first.", Leo said, going into his bedroom. He went to his closet and changed into a cleaner version of his normal outfit. He then went into the adjacent bathroom and started to fix himself up, combing his hair and brushing his teeth. When he looked presentable, he went back outside his bedroom and said, "So, what'dya think?"

Looking at him, she smirked. "Well, you do look better than earlier." She jeered.

Leo sniggered,"Gee, thanks.". Stealing a look at his watch, Leo saw that he had a few hours left to spend time with her. He smiled. It was no secret, but he loved doing everything with her. She was his happiness, incarnate.

"Well, we got some time to kill. Why don't we watch TV or something?"

"Sure!", she said excitedly, scooting over on the couch so that Leo could sit next to her. When he sat down and grabbed the remote, she leaned closed to him and kissed him on the cheek."Love you." She said with a endearing smile

Leo smiled big, "I love you too hon." And with that, the two continued on with their time watching television.

==Nine Years Ago==

Aeris was waiting not-so-patiently on her couch, foot tapping as she waited for her idiot friend to pick her up so that they could go out and do something. She sighed in frustration. She should've expected this from Leo. Hell, she did expect this from Leo. However, somehow she got it in her mind that she might be able to think that he'd would pull off being on time just once, but every time it seemed that the universe was set on correcting this way of thinking. Deciding to move around a little bit to kill time, she ran into her father, who was about to sit on the couch himself. Catching site of his daughter's frustrated expression, he asked, "Hey, sweetheart,what's the matter?"

Aeris sighed, "It's just Leo, Dad. Nothing too bad."

Her father almost seemed to scowl at the mention of his daughter's friend, "What did he do this time?"

Aeris rolled her eyes at her father's disdain toward her idiotic friend,"It's nothing Dad. It's just that Leo was supposed to pick me up fifteen minutes ago."

This information didn't seem to make him any less irritated, but he dropped the issue and went to the couch, grumbling slightly with his eyebrows furrowed. She was going to say something about it, but then she heard a car horn outside of her house.

"Fucking finally!", she thought as she made her way to the door, about to leave, when she was stopped by her mother.

"Going out with Leo today, Aeris?"

Aeris sighed. She never really liked that her mother always thought of Leo as her boyfriend, and it always annoyed her to no end when she would say things that implied that she was. She had tried to set her mother straight about this many times before, but they always ended with her being frustrated. So, she just said, "Yeah mom. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged, "I was just wondering is all. You didn't exactly tell us that you would."

Aeris groaned, "Mom, do I really have to tell you every single thing that I plan to do?"

"I guess not.", her mother said, smiling like a teenager. "You could at least tell me what you're doing and when you'll get back."

"Okay.", Aeris said, "I don't know, and sometime before nine."

Her mother rolled her eyes and, in every sense of the word, pouted, if you can imagine a parent pouting because of something their child said. "Fine, don't tell me. You'd better not keep him waiting."

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Aeris eagerly opened the door to see Leo's car at the end of her driveway. As she made her way over, she saw him wave to her, and, despite her annoyance with him, couldn't help but wave back with a smile. Getting into the car, she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before putting her seat belt on and saying, "Took you long enough."

He shrugged, "Sorry, got held up at home. Mom was just being Mom again."

Aeris rolled her eyes and said,"Yeah sure. So, where are we headed?"

Leo smiled, "Well, I figured that we'd just get something to eat today, maybe catch a movie if there's anything good playing. You game?"

Aeris shrugged, "May as well. After all, I had nothing else better to do anyway."

"Alright then.", Leo said as he continued to drive. After a moment, Aeris looked him over and said,"God, you look like a slob."

Leo chuckled, "Hey, it's not like we're going to a five-star restaurant. It's just going to be some diner. Seriously, who would make themselves look all groomed if they were just going to some burger joint?"

Aeris thought about it for a moment and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, why even try to look nice when you're going to a place that doesn't even bother to make itself look nice?"

==Present Day==

Aeris hated irony so much.

"Of course the fucking elevator is broken.", Aeris grumbled as she stomped up the stairs, arms full of bags that were constantly in danger of spilling over. It didn't help that Aeris was living on the 3rd floor. All in all, the pink cat was having a rather stressful day, despite having met her best friend from years ago. Even though that was the highlight of her day so far, that didn't mean that the rest of the day was necessarily a good one. Her morning was groggy, since she had no coffee beans, or a coffee maker for that matter. She had spent most of the day sitting in front of the TV, bored out of her skull, and thinking about what her next painting would be about. After a few hours of that, she had decided to get some groceries and other things to make her studio apartment livable, and left to do just that. Her trip getting some appliances wasn't so bad, but the grocery shopping was arduous. Even after she had met Leo, which did brighten up her day considerably, she still felt that it was an overall crappy one. And now she had to carry precariously placed groceries and other things up three flights of stairs, and somehow get her door open on top of that.

When she got to her floor, she sighed in relief. Of course, she still had to contend with her door, and not spill any of her groceries. As she reached the door, she balanced the bags on one of her arms and carefully put her paw into her pocket, where her keys were located. After a tense few moments of fishing them out, she found them and slowly placed them into the lock, all the while still keeping the bags balanced.

After she had finally opened the door, she let out a heavy sigh of relief and placed the bags on the counter. Then, she stretched out a little bit, and nearly every single joint in her body gave a sharp crack, no doubt out of protest for having to carry such a heavy load for so long.

Deciding to take care of putting everything away later, she looked at a nearby clock and saw that the time was about a quarter to five. Figuring that she had a little time to kill before her dinner with Leo, she went into her living room to sit down on her couch and watch TV. Of course, you couldn't really call it a living room considering that it and her kitchen were one in the same.

She hated having to live in a studio apartment, as there was barely any room for her, and her art supplies, and all the other things that she needed to eek out a decent living. But, it was better than living with her parents, and she couldn't depend on them her whole life. Besides, her paintings might get popular, and as a result, she could pretty good amount of money. Although, she knew that wouldn't likely happen. She was no starving artist, her painting was just a very productive hobby... that cost her over eight years away from Leo. She shook her head of that thought. She may not have been around for eight years, but she was still the same Aeris, and she knew that he was the same Leo. To think otherwise would just be idiotic. After all, this was Leo, the biggest change he had to go through was her leaving, and that didn't seem to mess him up as much as she thought it would have. It's not like he did anything desperate.

After an hour or so of watching TV, Aeris looked at the clock and saw that the deadline of 7 o'clock was coming up fast. Turning off the TV, she went into her small bedroom and started to get ready. After a half an hour had past, Aeris had done everything that she felt was needed to at least make herself look slightly pristine. Her hair was combed, teeth were brushed, and fresh clothes replaced the ones that she was wearing for her trip getting groceries. After checking herself in the mirror and fixing up a few stray strands of hair, she left her apartment and went down to the street and hailed a cab. After telling the cabby to take her to Howards, she was on her way. After a moment, she relaxed a little, and began to think up questions to ask her long estranged friend. Of course, there were the generic questions you always came up with when you thought of this sort of thing; what was new with him, what he'd been up to since she left, what kind of job had he managed to get and keep (though she half doubted that question was even worth asking), all the things you made sure to ask an old friend to get yourself caught up.

There was, however, a particular question Aeris was felling a faint itch to ask. It was actually rather silly. None of her business really, but...

Aeris sighed, a little annoyed with herself. She wanted to know if Leo was seeing someone or not. She looked at herself in the side mirror, and she shook her head a little, disappointed. "Eight years.", she thought to herself, "Eight years Aeris. It's time to grow up. You're not a kid anymore. Stop trying to live in the fairy tales, and just be happy you're getting back in touch."

And with that, Aeris turned away from the mirror, lounging back comfortably in her seat to wait until she arrived at the restaurant.

Back over at the Leonardo residence, the man of the house and his girl were still happily watching the T.V, with him sitting comfortably on the couch, while she was contently sitting on his lap. They were watching Adventure Time, and one doesn't simply walk away from an episode of Adventure Time, especially not Leo Leonardo the Third. They were about half-way through the episode, Finn and Jake having just discovered that they had been duped by Ash, when Leo realized he still had a very important appointment tonight, one which he knew he shouldn't for the life of him be late for. Checking his watch, he saw with a small brick in his stomach that there was a mere half-hour left until seven o'clock. He sprung up from the sofa in an instant, and in doing so, unintentionally launched her up into the air, and crashing down hard on her behind.

"Owwwwwww..." She whimpered as she rubbed the spot where it hurt most.

"Sorry hon, but I just saw the time! I'm gonna be late!" Leo said all of this as he made his way over to the closet, wrestling to get his coat free from the grasp of an uncooperative hanger.

"But it's only six thirty." She observed, somewhat incredulously. "You got lots've time."

"I gotta be there for seven, hun." He informed her, searching around the apartment in, appearing at one end then the next in split seconds. "With traffic how it is at this time, I'll probably wind up winding up getting there at quarter after."

That was much too late for Leo. He and Aeris might not have seen each other in a long time, but he was certain in the belief that in the eight years they had been apart, her patience and her temper hadn't improved much. He felt that all to familiar, unforgotten twinge of fear he always got whenever he considered the possibility of being late for one of their da- get togethers...

Needless to say, it got Leo moving considerably faster.

"_Gotta hurry, gotta hurry!"_, He thought as he hastily tied his shoes, _"Cannot, cannot CANNOT be late!"_

As Leo rushed about his apartment like a madman, Aeris herself was caught in her own little snag. Her cab had gotten caught in one of Toronto's infamous traffic jams, being stuck behind at least 14 cars, with another 17 behind her, the number climbing with each passing second. There was cursing, honking, and even a bit of fighting drivers up and down the road, and as you can imagine, it was putting dear old Aeris in a sour mood. It wasn't helping any that the cabby's radio was tuned to some dated classic rock station, the one kind of music Aeris could outright not stand. She never understood it's appeal to people. The lyrics were cheesy, with the same topic being sung about in about every second song. The musicianship was lacking, though she could admit there were a few (FEW) exceptions, and the sound, oh God the sound... Buzzing. That's all it was, atonal, confounded buzzing, thanks in due part to the horrendous recording equipment available to the 'musicians' of back in the day, as well as their choice of effects on the guitar. And LORD how Leo used to listen to it...

It was a mystery to her. But she kept quiet about it as best she could. Aeris had some pity for cab drivers. They had to put up with a lot of shit for so little pay, drunks, cheaps, dick cops, just to name a few things on the list, so she let him keep his music playing while he tried to get her to her destination. Still, she was irritated. The noise, the crappy music, the knowledge that she was almost certain to be late for the dinner... It was driving her absolutely crazy. The worst was knowing she was going to be late. THAT was absolutely awful. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she knew how smug Leo would be about it. All those times of her giving him shit for being late, and here she is, arriving later than he had ever been, when A; she had told him to be on time, and B; it was the first time she'd seen him in too long. She grit her teeth a little thinking about it in depth, him sitting there, probably with a big glass of soda, ready to give it too her about the delicious irony of the situation...

"Man...LET'S GET A FUCKIN' MOVE ON!" The cabby honked his own horn a few times to get his point across, drawing Aeris out of her train of thought. "Er... sorry about that ma'am..."

Aeris rolled her eyes, knowing full well what he was apologizing for. "It's fine." She replied, indifferent. It wasn't like she'd never heard a swear in her twenty-six years on the Earth. Hell, she probably swore more than the cabby would ever care to know.

Meanwhile, Leo had walked out of his apartment and quickly took note of the fact that the streets were packed and that it would be nearly impossible to hail a cab in this kind of traffic. Sighing, he decided that there was only one solution to getting to the restaurant quickly was to run. Fast. It was only ten blocks away after all, it wasn't like he hadn't run long distance before. Well, it was a while ago... like, high school... sophomore year. It didn't matter to him though, he had to get there before it was too late!

Of course, as was expected for a person who really didn't work out all that much, he was panting when he reached the second block. And by the time he had reached the third block, he was leaning against a building, feeling like his lungs weren't bringing in any air. But he couldn't give up! He didn't want Aeris to get angry at him, then yell at him, then throw something in his face! He barely rested before he started running again.

Meanwhile, Aeris wasn't fairing much better. Rush hour traffic was getting worse by the minute, and it was not getting any better. Getting increasingly frustrated, Aeris asked to the cabby, "Hey, how much further until we get to Howards?"

"It isn't all that far now ma'am.", the cabby replied, "It should only be about a few more minutes. Ten at least."

Alright, ten minutes. She could work with that. Leo probably would be there at around that time... or maybe it would take too long... and then he would leave! She wouldn't put it past him, he'd done way stupider. Slightly worried, she asked, "Hey, which way is it to this Howards place?"

"Well, it's just straight on. It's on the left side of the road, so I'm going to have to turn around when we get to- hey, where are you going!?"

This was mostly a response to Aeris jumping out of the taxi, leaving five dollars in the back seat for him. She knew her way now, she didn't need to take a cab the rest of the way. Thankful that she chose to wear flat-soled shoes instead of heels, she briskly walked her way across the street, knowing that she wouldn't be hit by the gridlocked traffic. Of course, there were those who still didn't like this, with many horns beeping and shouts of, "Get the Hell out of the way, lady!"

Aeris just rolled her eyes and kept her pace, soon reaching the sidewalk and going straight on. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be there on time, and that Leo would probably be a little late. "_Oh well._", she thought, "_It isn't all that big of a deal. It's not like he's never been late before._"

Unfortunately for Leo, he didn't know that Aeris felt that way about him being late, so he just kept on running. He was almost there now, and it wouldn't take too long until he reached the restaurant. Although, his running had finally started to mess up a few things with his appearance. Gone was his straight hair, as it had been taken out of place by all the running. Not to mention that he was sweating so much now that it was starting to overpower his deodorant. But he didn't care, he just had to get to Aeris!

Leo continued to mope about the unfortunate events of the night thus far, while Aeris continued making her way to Howard's. She walked along at a leisurely pace, making sure not to go too slow so to ensure arriving on time and not too fast to keep from sweating in the mid-September heat. She made her way through the sidewalk crowds Toronto was so infamous for, being careful not to run into or trip anyone. However, as her thoughts were consumed with the thoughts of being lucky for not wearing high heels, she didn't see a raised piece of concrete in the sidewalk. Needless to say, the fall wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Ah!" Aeris cried as her shin made contact with the rock-hard ground. She managed to partially break her fall by throwing her hands up, preventing her from slamming her torso against the sidewalk, but scraping both her palms.

"God dammit..." Aeris clenched her teeth as a burning sting rose up her arms. She cursed herself for being so clumsy, mostly because it had haggard her appearance, but also because of the odd stares she was now getting from the crowds walking past. It occurred bitterly then to Aeris that she was attracting some rather unwanted attention today. First at the grocery store with Leo, and now here on the side of the road. She made a face at a particular individual, a yellow cat with rich blue eyes who looked to be in his teenage years who in Aeris' mind had been staring a second longer than he ought to be.

"And just what are you gawking at, kid?"

The yellow cat quickly shifted his vision away from her, and walked off even quicker. Aeris swore she heard him muttering something along the lines of "grouch" as he hurried away, but she didn't pay it much attention. Picking herself up off the curb, Aeris smacked away the dirt that had accumulated on her jeans and straightened them out once more. She briefly inspected her hands, seeing that there was no serious damage done to them. Just a single cut on her left paw and a slight sting from both. The cut was shallow, so there was no point in fretting over it. Aeris sighed, once more berating herself for tripping, then continued on her way. She resumed her pace before, a brisk walk that was a step or two ahead of everyone else, and made sure that when she crossed she paid better attention to the corner. She kept going for a while before stopping to take a small rest. Aeris leaned back against one of the hundreds of skyscrapers in Toronto, reveling in the reflection of the fiery orange sky in the windows of the building across the street. Aeris wasn't an overly profound person, but even she could acknowledge the beauty of a twilight September sky. Smiling to herself, Aeris dug around in her pockets for her phone. She decided she might as well make sure she was making good time to the dinner date. Fishing out her iPhone, Aeris clicked it on. It was then she realized she hadn't yet adjusted her phone for Ontario time, still being for the West Coast time zone. She made a mental note to do so when she got home later.

Inputting the security code, her birthday, June 26, Aeris scrolled over to the world clock app and found the time zone for Ontario. It read 6:55

6:55?!

That meant she only had five minutes left to get to Howards! And she had no idea how close or far she was! Jamming the iPhone back into her pocket, Aeris got up off the building and instantly began sprinting in the direction the cabby had pointed her in. She ignored the calls and protests of those unfortunate enough to get in her way, which Aeris plowed through with no qualms. She was a cat on a mission, driven to accomplish her goal with a single thought in mind: "No way in hell am I going to let Leo get there first."

Five minutes wasn't exactly optimum time to get to a place you didn't even know the location of, but that was all that Aeris had to work with, and she was going to go for it, even if she did have to make herself look like a fool. So, she began to run as fast as she could, the oppressing heat near instantly causing her to sweat, which began to stain her clothes a little. But she couldn't let Leo get there before her, it was a matter of principle! What sort of principle it was, she wasn't sure, but it was still a matter of principle!

Leo, meanwhile, had nearly made it to Howards, but was starting to feel winded from running so much. And the sweat. Oh God, the sweat. He could tell that his fur and clothes had started to cling to his skin, and it wasn't exactly the most pleasant feeling in the world, especially knowing that fact that the person he was meeting pretty much despised seeing other people looking like slobs. Being apart for as long as they did didn't mean that he could be messy looking. But he had to get there in time! He wouldn't forgive himself if he had to make her wait any longer than what was necessary. So, he ran. And Howards was in sight. He was panting full on at this point, and it started to feel as though a cotton ball was wedged into his mouth. He couldn't take it anymore, he just had to rest. He at least had a few minutes left, and the restaurant was in view. He figured that he could rest for at least a minute, and in that minute, he hoped that all the sweat would evaporate and somehow not make him smell like an old gym sock.

After a few more moments of rest, he picked himself up, and walked the rest of the way casually, trying not to draw any more attention to himself, and arriving there right on the dot. With a smile on his face, he looked around for Aeris, but after taking a quick glance, he noticed that the pink cat was not there. He sighed, and sat down on a nearby bench, waiting for her to arrive.

While Leo sat on the uncomfortable wooden bench, Aeris was still running in the direction that she was hoping the restaurant was. She was getting a stitch in her side from all the exercise, and it was really starting to hurt. Oh, but the look on Leo's face when he saw that she beat Leo there, and that was all that mattered. She could imagine it right now...

There was a resulting crash when Aeris, not paying attention to what was in front of her, had ran into a hot dog stand, sending condiments, wieners, money, and the person operating the stand, to the ground.

Aeris fell over with the cart, luckily not having any condiments or liquid of any sort onto her clothes, sparing her any added humiliation. But before she could quickly apologize and run away as fast as she could, she felt a paw on her shoulder and an authoritative voice saying, "Where do you think you're going, miss?"

Aeris clenched her paws and grimaced, knowing that this was going to yet another delay to her gloating. She turned around, and saw that the person holding onto her was wearing a police uniform. She groaned to herself, put on her best smile (Which wasn't very good), and said, "So... what's the problem officer?"

The policeman raised his eyebrow and said, "I think you know what you did, miss. You can't exactly run into a hot dog stand and expect to get off scot-free."

Aeris's smile faltered, and eventually left, before saying, "I didn't realize that accidentally tripping over something was a crime."

"It isn't.", the officer confirmed, "But it isn't exactly fair to the stand owner, now is it?"

"Do you think I care about this guy?", she said, motioning over to the stand owner, who was picking up the spilled hotdogs and money. Then, she continued, "Anyway, I don't have time for this. I'm already late enough as it-"

"Well that's too bad.", the officer interrupted, "I'm afraid that I can't formally charge you with anything, but you're going to have to help clean up this mess."

"And why should I?", she retorted, folding her arms.

"Because if you don't you're going to get fined, that's why.", he said, pulling out a pad and pen.

Aeris looked as though she was about to say something, but she decided against it, grumbling as she kneeled down to pick up the slimy hot dogs, trying to to avoid the spilled mustard and ketchup.

It took about ten minutes to get it done, and when the cart was righted and the officer said that she could go, she started to walk down the sidewalk in a dejected manner, knowing full well what she was in store for. She could see what Leo was going to tell her. He would be standing in front of the door, this dumbass grin on his face, then saying something, 'witty', like. "Well, well, well, it's about time you showed up.", or some stupid shit like that.

She sighed deeply, not wanting to have to put up with the whole being late thing. But it didn't matter, she would have to put up with it no matter what time she got there.

As she turned a corner, she saw the Howard's sign above the restaurant, and the grey cat that was sitting in on the bench in front of it, tapping his fingers on the top. She sighed and crossed the street, Prepping herself for Leo's gloating. When she got there, she tapped his shoulder, to which he flinched and turned around quickly. He relaxed when he saw here, and smiled genuinely, saying, "Hey Aeris, what's up?"

Aeris raised her eyebrow, "Um... nothing? I just got here."

"Cool, cool.", he said, looking her up and down, taking her in as though she were just a figment of his imagination. He turned away from her and opened the door, saying, "Well then, shall we?"

Aeris was still slightly confused. Did Leo... LEO, just... _not_ gloat? The thought just seemed... odd. How much did change while she was gone?

After another gesture from Leo, she wordlessly entered the restaurant, the sizzling sound of hamburgers and deep friers filling her ears. It smelled wonderful inside, meat and fries giving off a very satisfying smell.

Leo seemed to echo her sentiment. He took a big breath in and slowly let it out. "Ahhhhh. That never gets old." He said with a smile. "Come here often then?" Aeris inquired. "Eh. From time to time, for special occasions. But I'm not a regular." Leo replied, shrugging his shoulders with a small gesture from his hands. For special occasions, huh? So tonight was special... Aeris definitely liked the sound of that. After their short discussion, the two cats walked up to the front desk. A sign reading "Please wait to be seated.", was standing right beside it, so they did as the sign told. Before Leo could even finish reading it (which might have taken a bit of time, sadly enough), a young, cheerful looking teenaged fox appeared behind the desk. "Good evening, and welcome to Howards!", the red fox said, before quickly turning the customary greeting into an introduction, "My name is Jamie, and I'll be your hostess tonight." Jamie finished with a smile that was both welcoming and warming. A spot on introduction to be sure. "Hey Jamie!" Leo replied, just as enthusiastic as she did, "We'd like a table for two, please. Maybe by a window if you could?" "I'll see what I can do sir.", she said with a nod, before continuing on, "If you and your girlfriend could just follow me-" "Hey whoa whoa there!" Aeris interrupted in a slightly undignified manner, "I'm not his girlfriend. We're just friends." "Oh. I'm sorry miss.", she said, looking a little embarrassed by her mistake, "It's just that it's usually couples that request window tables." "It's fine, just…", Aeris paused, thinking of less offensive words to say to the teenager, before continuing, "Think before you say something like that next time, would ya?" "Of course. Now, this way if you please.", Jamie sounded a little dejected with Aeris's last comment, and that made Aeris feel a little bad. Then again, it was her fault for assuming she and Leo were a couple, so she technically shouldn't be feeling all that bad. Still..she could have been a little less blunt with it, maybe just told her when Leo went to the bathroom or something. Aeris shook her head, deciding she was just over-thinking the whole thing. Navigating through the unbelievably crowded restaurant, Jamie eventually found Leo and Aeris the table beside the window they had asked for, though its placement wasn't exactly desirable. The street across from this wall wasn't even a street, but a pier leading out to Lake Ontario. That meant no skyscrapers. And it was twilight. Lets just say the glare from the sun was something fierce. "I'm sorry, but this is the only free window table we have left.", Jamie said with a genuine regret. "I could move some things around and get you a different spot if you'd like that more." "That sounds-" "This is perfect." Leo said kindly, cutting Aeris off mid-sentence and pulling his chair out and sitting down. "Thank you Jamie." "Oh…are you sure, sir?" Jamie inquired, as was her duty as a hostess. "It would be no trouble at all." "Believe me, this is fine." Leo responded reassuringly, lounging back in his seat, relaxing. "Well…alright then. If you say so. I'll be back in just a moment with your menus." And with that the chipper young fox disappeared into the crowd of guests. Aeris herself kept standing for a bit, staring puzzled at Leo. The orange glow of the evening sun was practically blinding her, and the shimmer of light off the lake wasn't helping any. If it were up to her she would have insisted on getting a different table. So why had he been so insistent on dinning by a window? Then again…the window did have a nice view to it. Even though she had been back for a few weeks now, Aeris had to admit that she had missed the sight of the grand Ontario. It brought back memories of her and Leo swimming and splashing on the shoreline in their child years, and later on tubing with their other friends in their adolescence. And of course there were the rare nights when they would come out to the beaches alone… Aeris blinked that thought away, remembering her earlier statement, and decided that even though it wasn't a great spot by any means, it wasn't a terrible one either. She pulled out her chair, and sat down across from Leo, removing her jacket and slinging it around the back of the chair. No sooner had she done so, Jamie reappeared from the crowd carrying two leather clad menus, "Here we are." She said as she handed a menu to both cats. "Thanks." They both replied, and Jamie smiled in response. "Now you're sure you don't want a different table?" The fox asked Leo. The grey cat just smiled politely and shook his head. "We'll be fine here. But thank you again." Jamie made a clicking noise in disappointment but decided to leave the matter as it was. "Very well sir. Can I at least get you something to drink to start with?" "Please." Aeris replied, feeling parched suddenly. "What've you got?" "Well," Jamie pulled out a little notebook and checked it over. "We have a variety of soft drinks; coke, root beer, Sprite, iced tea, and Mountain Dew. Coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and white or chocolate milk." "Hit me with a Dew, Jamie." Aeris replied. Yes, she was 26 years old and was still blissfully addicted to Mountain Dew. Jamie marked to order down, and turned to Leo. "And for you sir?" "Chocolate milk!" Leo announced immediately with a large smile. Jamie stared at him a second, dumbfounded by the adult cat's readiness and choice of drink.

"Er…that's typically what children order, sir." The fox informed while giving a sheepish smile, hoping to diffuse the awkward little situation. "Are you sure you wouldn't something more mature?" "Nuh-uh! I'd like the biggest glass you've got, please!" Leo answered with an almost sugary optimism. Nothing could compare with the god-like drink that is chocolate milk. It was one of the natural laws! Jamie, seeing that it was no good, scribbled down the order of a large chocolate for a grown man down in her notebook. Aeris merely facepalmed, memories of Leo ordering similar items at the dinners they used to go out to in high school zooming by her mental eye. Jamie marked down the number of the orders, flipped the notebook closed and said "I'll be back in just a moment." Then turned and walked off, probably to wait on other waiting guests. Now that the preppy fox was gone, Aeris looked over at Leo, brow raised and a snark look on her face. "Chocolate milk?" She questioned sarcastically. "Really?" "What?" Leo replied with genuine surprise. "It's so good!" "It's for kids." Aeris countered. "But it's so yummy!" The grey cat exclaimed. "It's not fair that kids should be the only ones that get to experience its greatness."

Aeris looked like she was about to retort what he said, but quickly decided against it, instead saying, "Jeez, I've been away for years, and you're STILL an idiot. I guess some things just never change." Leo sank in his chair a little, slightly saddened that that was how she felt about him. So, after a surprisingly quick thought, he said, "I could get something else if you want me to..." "What?", Aeris scoffed, surprised by the fact that it seemed Leo had suddenly turned into a five year old in a completely different way then was usual, "It's not like I told you that I didn't want you to have it." "Okay...", he said in a tone that was equivalent to that of a child being told not to bite their annoying little cousin again.

Aeris was a little taken back by it, especially with how depressed it made Leo look and sound. Sighing as she leaned her arm on the table, she said "Come on, don't take it to heart. I'm just razzing you. You know, like old times." She finished while smiling gingerly.

Leo looked up at Aeris, and slowly let a little kid smile come across his face. "I know.", he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "Guess I've just weaned away from it after so long." "Heh. I guess so.", Aeris said, slightly embarrassed now.

Leo and Aeris sat in silence for a moment, keeping their gaze fixated on each other, letting the surrounding ambiance of the restaurant envelope them for a second before picking up their respective menus. Aeris immediately took note of the style of food Howards offered; New York cuisine. There were more burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, wraps, and even fries than she previously thought possible. There was even a bit of pasta to choose from. Aeris had to admit she was impressed, not only with the restaurant but with Leo as well. It seemed he had at least garnered some class in these past years. "MmmmmMM!" Leo licked his lips as he leafed through the menu and scoped out the pictures of all the different dishes he could order from. They alone made his stomach growl, and then there was the ever-present smell from the kitchen. His appetite was in full swing tonight. Aeris however, immediately set her eyes on some fried chicken, admittedly her favorite dish. Granted, she knew that it was an unhealthy but then again practically everything you ate today would kill you sooner or later. Besides, it wasn't like one plate of chicken was going to make her bloated, so Aeris decided on the meal. After a few more moments of wordless browsing, the chirpy fox returned with their drinks."Have you decided what you'll be having for dinner this evening?" She asked, getting her notepad and pen out again. "Yes." Aeris replied, closing her menu and handing it back to Jamie. "I'll have the fried chicken please." "An excellent choice ma'am," she said, jotting down Aeris' order. "And you sir?" She asked as she turned to face Leo. "I'll have the grilled cheese sandwich!" His response was almost expected from Aeris, facepalming again because of her friend. Jamie looked almost taken aback by his choice. She looked over to the pink cat, who shrugged in response. She then turned to Leo and said, "I'm sorry, but... that's on the kids menu..." "So?" Leo questioned with genuine wonder, handing the menu over to the confused fox, "Just because it's on the kids menu means that I can't have it?" "Well...", Jamie said, shifting her stance uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond. "I... suppose it doesn't matter," she concluded, writing his order down. Her professional composure returned, and she tucked the notepad away. "I'll be back with your orders when they're ready." And with that she made off to take care of another group at another table. Leo had a satisfied smile on his face as he turned to look at Aeris, but his smile disappeared when he saw her confused look. He then asked, "Ummm... Aeris? Something up?" "I'm fine." she said, "But...grilled cheese? Really?" "Erm…what's the big deal?", Leo asked, feeling as though he were being unfavorably scrutinized by his female compatriot. "It was on the kid's menu for God's sakes." Aeris said with absolute incredulism. "I know, but I wanted grilled cheese, and there was none on the adult menu. What choice did I have?" Leo countered, trying to defend his choice. "Maybe order something that wasn't a grilled cheese sandwich.", she said flatly, making a face, remembering that such obvious conclusions had always evaded Leo's consciousness, yet another thing that she remembered from past years. Leo slouched in his chair, feeling rather down at Aeris' blatant disapproval. "Sorry Aeris... I just really wanted one..." The pink cat was taken aback by her friend's melancholy tone. Before, Leo would always defend his dumb decisions, always saying something with something along the lines of; 'I'm a grown-ass man, I can do what I want!'. But this? This was almost... sad in a way. She hated to see him like this, and being the cause of it even more. "Hey Leo, come on. I guess it's not that big a deal if you want a grilled cheese sandwich. I mean who can say no to one of those things?" His smile came back slowly as he looked back up at her. "Yeah. It's like God in between two pieces of crunchy bread." He said, licking his lips. Aeris couldn't help but snort at his description of it, glad that Leo, even after all these years, still had his dumb sense of humor. "Yeah, sure. Hey, why don't I cook you one sometime? Like, if you come over to visit my place?" He thought that over a moment, and said, "That depends, would you start making when I walked right through the door, and would you do it every time I walked in?" She rolled her eyes jokingly as she said, "Yeah, su-" "SOLD!" Leo shouted, cutting Aeris off mid-sentence. She flinched at the volume, and looked around to see if anyone else was staring at them. Thankfully, no one had paid much attention to Leo's embarrassing outburst, and Aeris sighed in relief. "Could you be any louder?" She asked sarcastically, holding her out in front of Leo's face when it seemed he were about to answer her. "Hey, I get excited at the thought of grilled cheese." he said, finally defending himself in his usual manner in situations such as this. Rather than be annoyed by this like she would have been in the past, Aeris chose to just go along with it and laughed. "You're such a twat." Leo laughed. "Who the hell says 'twat'?" "I do." Aeris countered, not missing a beat. "It's such a British word! Like, I don't know, crumpets or something like that. Listen. Crumpets." Leo repeated in a mock British accent reminiscent of his father's. Aeris laughed loud and shamelessly, never hearing such a god-awful accent in all her life. The two cats laughter continued for a time until slowly dying down until an utter silence was between Leo and Aeris. The two just looked away from each other, not really seeing what the other was doing, and just being slightly awkward. "So, how've you been anyway?" Leo finally chirped, hoping to get some conversation flowing once more. Aeris's attention immediately turned to Leo, and she said, "Oh. Well, good, I guess. I mean, I spent eight years at college, away from you. That wasn't exactly fun in hindsight." She trailed off. "Awww, come on. You can't mean that. I mean, there must've been some good times, good people." He encouraged, trying to get the topic rolling. Aeris thought for a few moments and said, "Well... yeah, I had some pretty good friends out west. Like this one girl, Shannon." "What was she like?" Leo asked, genuinely curious. "Well, she's a raccoon.", she began, "Really into the whole romance and love thing. Kind of a skank though." "Awwww, that isn't nice.", he said, frowning a little. "I'm serious. I mean, she would come home with a new guy nearly every day." Leo took a sip of his milk while Aeris was describing this Shannon girl. "Sometimes with a girl." Leo gagged on the milk when he heard that, making him cough and wheeze. Aeris reached over and smacked his back a few times, then asked if he was okay. He assured her he was fine. "I'm sorry, what? She would bring in... girls?" "Ummm... yeah?" Aeris replied with a raised eyebrow. "And you were like, roommates or something?" he asked, leaning forward a little. "Well... we lived in the same dorm for a while, yeah." Aeris was beginning to grow suspicious of Leo's questioning, when a thin trickle of blood dripped from his nose. She threw her napkin at him, immediately connecting the dots. "No, we did not have lesbian sex." She informed, glaring at the pervert across her. "Awww, come on. I wasn't thinking about anything bad." Leo insisted obviously lying through his teeth as he wiped away the blood. "Uh-huh.", she replied sarcastically. "Anyway, she was a journalism major, and a pretty good friend. Had to leave her back in Vancouver, but she's doing her thing now. Last I heard from her she was grabbing a flight somewhere in Calgary." "That's cool." He said before deciding to move onto a much more pressing topic about her departure. "So, uh…none of my business, I know, but…what about guys? Were you with any guys?" Leo's discomfort with the topic was evident in his voice. "Guys?" Of course Aeris knew that this was probably going come up sooner or later, but that didn't mean it was going to be one she enjoyed. Still, she bit the bullet and said, "Well... there were a few. Like... there was this guy, named Tony. He was a drama major, and he was actually pretty funny." "Oh." Leo said, trying to sound impassive in regards to it, but really being very uncomfortable with the though. She dated an actor? An actor!? "Well, we aren't dating anymore.", she explained, "Turns out that he had this other chick who he had a crush on... and an

another chick he had a crush on." "Jeez, two girls?" Leo asked, incredulous, but also a bit impressed with his fellow male. Aeris chuckled at his reaction, "Yeah. I think he went for the second one though, I'm not sure. I think she was a nurse or something." "You sure know how to choose 'em Aeris." Leo joked. Aeris reached across the table and lightly smacked him on his shoulder, a playful smile on her face, "He wasn't the only one you know. There were…three? No, four. Like, four others." "Four?!" Leo cried out, gaining the attention of a few others. Aeris looked around, this time very much embarrassed before taking a drink of her soda and giving Leo a vicious glare. "Well yeah. I mean, I just wanted to have some company besides my friends, you know?" "Yeah, I suppose...", he said, slightly dejected. Aeris noticed, and felt like she should say something to comfort Leo, falling short on anything appropriate to say. But since the topic had already been brought up, Leo decided she may as well keep the chitchat going. "So... did you do... you know... things with them?" Aeris was confused, "Things?" "Umm...",Leo stammered, unsure of whether or not he would want to continue this line of questioning, and how to appropriately word it. "You know... bow chicka bow wow?" He said as he made random motions with his hands (talking with his hands). Aeris just facepalmed. "Only you could ask a question like that Leo...Yes, I got busy with some of them." "Oh...", he said, feeling MASSIVELY uncomfortable with the information, as well as even more dejected. Suddenly feeling a little bad, Aeris added, "They... weren't all that good. I mean, first time I ever did it, it hurt like Hell." Oh god, this was awkward…Leo winced in empathy, "Ow... well, at least you didn't get pregnant or something." Aeris shifted around uncomfortably in her seat, "Umm... yeah..." Leo looked at her wide-eyed, "A-Aeris? Did you-" Aeris broke out laughing "I'm kidding! I didn't have a kid! If I did, I wouldn't have been gone for so long." Leo, realizing that Aeris had been yanking his chain, laughed along with her and said, "Yeah, makes sense." They laughed a little more, letting it die down slowly before resuming their conversation. "So, enough about me, what have you been doing?" Aeris inquired, curious on what had gone on in Leo's life in so many years. "Me?" "No, the naked Russian on a pogo stick behind you." Aeris sighed sarcastically. Leo immediately looked back, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was sure to be an entertaining sight. But, he soon discovered that there was no naked Russian on a pogo stick. "You did mean me, huh?" Aeris rolled her eyes, "No shit, Sherlock." "Oh." Leo said, embarrassed for having bought what she said. But, to his credit, he recovered quickly and said, "Well, pretty good I guess. Made a few friends." "That's good.", she said, happy that he actually made friends with people, "So, what about girls? You been with any girls." Leo's reaction to her question was... odd. He became very ridged, keeping a straight face and blank look in his eyes, as though he were thinking back to something else. Aeris was about to ask if he was all right when he replied "Nobody important," flatly. She raised her eyebrow. "Nobody important?" "Nope." He said, his tone uncharacteristically firm. "Soooo does that mean you haven't seen anyone?" She pressed, genuinely curious. "No.", he said, tone still off, "I've been with a couple girls... But like I said, no one really special." "Oh.", she said, suddenly realizing that Leo's love life wasn't really the best, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." "It's fine." he said, attempting to make her feel better and genuinely meaning it, "You didn't know." Aeris was about to say something else, but she was interrupted when Jamie came back with their food, "Here you two go. Enjoy your meals." Leo and Aeris thanked the fox and with a smile, Jamie left, leaving the two cats behind with their food. Discussion was thrown out the window at this point, food consuming their thoughts, as they both had just noticed how hungry running to Howards had made them. Leo was finished before Aeris had even torn into her third piece of chicken. Cursing the small size of his grilled cheese sandwich, he turned his gaze out to the view of the lake. The sun had gone down, and the glare had dissipated. The water looked beautiful. It looked like a pitch black blob, with the evening's Sun shimmering off it's surface like some grand mirror. The lake help many memories for Leo Leonardo. He remembered the one time he tried to hold his breath for as long as he could, but Aeris got worried and dragged him out. She then hit him for making her worry. But there were also, less violent times that he remembered. Like the party they had attended in junior year and had a fire on the beach with their friends. They had gotten into trouble with the police because of it, since it wasn't in a pit, but the night had been on of the most memorable of the year. The fact that he and Aeris had had fun together on it made it all the better. "Leo?", Aeris said. Leo snapped out of his daydreaming. "Huh?" Aeris looked at him oddly. "Well, I finished eating, and the check came, and you were just staring out the window…" She trailed off. "Oh!" Leo sat up, saw the receipt and pulled out the required money, leaving ten dollars extra for Jamie. Putting the check down, Leo stood up and said, "So, shall we go?" Aeris smirked, "Yeah, lets. Help me up?" Leo smiled as he outstretched his paw to Aeris. She grabbed it, and he pulled her up, helping her onto her feet. Letting go of her paw, she walked ahead of him, heading toward the exit. Leo kept smiling as he followed closely behind, only really catching up to her when they got outside. "So, do you want me to walk you home or something?" Leo asked. Aeris turned back to face him and raised an eyebrow. "Leo, I live too far away to walk there. Besides, I can just take a cab." "You sure though?" he asked, "I mean, I don't mind paying for the cab." She chuckled, "Leo it's fine. I can take care of myself." Leo sighed, defeated. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He paused for a moment. "By the way... would you mind doing this again sometime? Like... Friday?" Aeris eyed Leo. "You mean tomorrow, Friday?" Leo shuffle his feet and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah." Aeris kept silent for a moment, though it was deliberate so as to mess with Leo's head. She smiled back to him, "Yeah, I'd like that. 7 o'clock?" "Yeah, that works." He said, relieved she had accepted. "Anyway... I'll see you later. Or…tomorrow I guess." He chuckled out of embarrassment and outstretched his paw, figuring that a handshake would be an appropriate way of ending the night. Aeris, however, cracked an evil smile across her lips, and quickly leaned in and pecked the grey cat on the cheek. Leo stood stock still as she moved away from him and hailed a taxi, getting one quickly. She smiled back at him as she got inside, and waved to him as the taxi pulled away. Leo stayed still a moment, waving slowly to where the taxi had been before. A few minutes passed before he came to his senses and hailed his own taxi. He climbed in, gave the cabby his address, and sat back. Slowly, a coy grin stretched itself across his face, and Leo smiled gaily, rubbing the spot where Aeris had kissed him. Time fast forward, and in an instant Leo was back at his apartment. He paid the cabby, adding a five-dollar tip, and sauntered up the stairs to his apartment, his happiness from his night out with Aeris mixing with the excitedness of coming home to his girl. He unlocked the door and walked in, and no sooner had he she was running up to him and wrapping him in a big hug

"Did you have fun?" She asked excitedly. Leo chuckled as he stroked her hair and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Tons of fun, honey. We're going to meet up again tomorrow."

Her eyes got wide with the news. "That's great! I'm so happy for you!"

Leo smiled, his heart warmed that she approved. "Thanks honey." He gave her another hug, and surprising her, scooped her up in his arms. "Hey, let's go to bed. I'm tired."

She let out a long, drawn out yawn. "Me too. Will you carry me?"

"Sure." And Leo carried her off to bed. He lay her down on the mattress, covered her with the blankets, and kissed her forehead once more. She wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled him close. "I love you."

"I love you too." Leo sat up from the bed and reached over to the lamp on the nightstand. "Night." He switched it off, stood up and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him, and not for the first time in his life, reflected on how lucky he was that she was in his life.


End file.
